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Raw sewage spill reaching Tri-State

By Chad Sewich - bio | email | Twitter

EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) - For over three hours last Wednesday, 10 million gallons of raw sewage accidentally spilled into the Ohio River from a Louisville treatment plant.  That waste is now running down river through the Tri-State.

"We've been expecting it, and yesterday is when we would have seen that material," Harry Lawson, General Manager of the Evansville Water and Sewer Utility, said.

Technicians with the Evansville Water and Sewer Utility are conducting additional testing due to the sewage spill.

"We haven't found anything," Lawson said. "We've been watching our chlorine demand with organic material like that, it requires more chlorine to disinfect it and we haven't seen anything."

An EPA spokesperson said while small sewage spills aren't all that uncommon, the amount of this spill is, but Evansville officials said the raw sewage released probably won't cause any problems.

"10 million gallons sounds like a large number, but in the Ohio, it's not," Lawson said. "With the velocity and the volume of water in the river, it's diluted quickly."

If the waste did pose a problem, chlorine or carbon could be used to filter it out of the water. A larger spill, however, could affect wildlife.

"In the river itself, it can become a problem if you have a very large volume, 100 million gallons or more, it can use the oxygen in the river," Lawson said.

The EPA and the state of Kentucky are considering whether to levy fines against the Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District.

Louisville plant managers said the spill happened after a main sewer line failed. The city of Louisville is in the process of upgrading their water and sewer system.

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